ENB:10:42
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REVIEW OF DRAFT DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION
The following is a description of some of the agreements that were reached here on those issues that were deferred by PrepCom III.
DECLARATION: In paragraph 27 (social situation in countries with economies in transition), delegates added text on the economic and social deterioration in countries with economies in transition. In Commitment 1(i) (new and additional financial resources), the reference to "such resources must be both adequate and predictable" was replaced with a reference to maximizing the availability of such resources. Commitment 3(i) (ensuring quality jobs) now stresses respect for relevant ILO Conventions. Commitment 6(c) (solutions to external debt problems) calls for immediate implementation of the terms of debt forgiveness agreed in the Paris Club.
NEW COMMITMENT ON EDUCATION AND HEALTH: The final text strengthened the language on health from "basic health services" to "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health." The preamble's text on culture was also expanded. The national level commitments add emphasis to gender issues and the priority of women and girls in several paragraphs. Other paragraphs new to the national commitments were: (g) (indigenous people); (i) (links between labour market and education policies); (k) (learning acquisition and outcome); (p) (maternal and child health objectives); (q) (HIV/AIDS education); and (r) (environmental awareness).
The international level commitments section include: (v) (intergovernmental organizations); (w) (UN support for combatting major diseases); (x) (technology transfer); and (y) (international support for women and children).
CHAPTER I. AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Paragraph 10(a) (debt) calls for efforts to alleviate the debt burden. Paragraph 11(e) (solutions to external debt) calls for effective, development-oriented and durable solutions. Paragraph 11(h) qualifies the commitment to increased ODA as "consistent with countries' economic circumstances and capacity to assist...as soon as possible." Paragraph 15(c) (right to development) weakened the original language, calling for governments to only "take measures to ensure" development.
CHAPTER II. ERADICATION OF POVERTY: The revised text in paragraph 25 (bullet 9) (policies that sustain family stability) calls for policies in accordance with the Social Summit Declaration and the ICPD. In paragraph 37(d) (access for people living in poverty to primary health care services), delegates deleted the reference to access to "preventive health care," but they called for primary health care "free of charge or at affordable rates." In paragraph 37(e) (reproductive health care), delegates called for national strategies for "improving reproductive health care and child health care services," and specified services to be provided consistent with the ICPD. In paragraph 38(i) (social safety net), delegates agreed to "ensure" a social safety net under SAPs.
CHAPTER III. THE EXPANSION OF PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT AND THE REDUCTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT: In paragraphs 46 (unremunerated work) and 64(b) (developing knowledge of work), references to unremunerated work as part of national accounting systems were replaced with references to developing methods for reflecting its value in quantitative terms for possible reflection separate from national accounts. In 54(b) (basic workers' rights), delegates called for the full implementation of ILO conventions for parties to the conventions or taking them into account for States that are not party.
CHAPTER IV. SOCIAL INTEGRATION: Paragraph 71 (bullet 12) (dangers of armed conflict) now acknowledges "legitimate national defence needs" before the call for reducing excessive military expenditures. In paragraph 75(f) (structural adjustment programmes), delegates agreed to "ensure" that SAPs are designed to minimize their negative impacts. A new section G (Social integration and family responsibilities) calls for: support for the family; opportunities for family members to understand their social responsibilities; mutual respect within the family; and equal partnership between women and men in the family.
CHAPTER V. IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP: In paragraph 82 (bullet 6) (mobilize funding sources), the reference to "available" funding sources was replaced with a call for "adequate and predictable and mobilized in a way that maximizes the availability of such resources." In paragraph 83(d) (20:20) delegates agreed that "interested developed and developing partners" could allocate twenty percent of ODA and twenty percent of the national budget, respectively, to basic social programmes. Paragraphs 90(b) (bilateral debt of Africa and LDCs) and 90(c) (debt of other developing countries) were replaced with a call to reduce the bilateral debt of the LDCs and to explore innovative approaches to debt relief for other developing countries. In paragraph 95(e) (ECOSOC to oversee UN coordination of implementation), delegates deleted the call for ECOSOC to recommend ways to improve UN capacity to analyse and respond to economic and social crisis. In paragraph 95(f) (ECOSOC oversight method), ECOSOC, "within the framework of the discussions on an Agenda for Development," should consider holding joint meetings with the Development Committee of the World Bank and IMF.